The Association of Gas Producers of Ukraine welcomes the principal position of the Government of Ukraine and personally of the Prime Minister of Ukraine, Volodymyr Groysman, regarding holding a new transparent and open bidding for the largest gas field in the country – Yuzivka field.

The national gas producers did not have any doubt that the company, which did not meet the minimum requirements for the investor, as provided for in the Law of Ukraine On Production Sharing Agreements, which did not prove its financial and technical capabilities, and did not show any experience in successful realization of the projects in the oil and gas industry, will not be able to effectively develop the field.

We are expressing our hope that the next step of the Government will be to initiate the earliest suspension of the Yuzivka Agreement due to the inability to meet the requirements of the Agreement after Shell has exited the Agreement, and launch of the most transparent and open mechanism of a competition for the Yuzivka field.

Such actions will provide the ability to hold a large scale competition, which will definitely be interesting to both Ukrainian and foreign investors. The maximum transparency in this process is the basis to fight corruption in the industry and to build a stable trust between the producers, the state, and the local communities. Successful conduct of competition will be a profound section on the route to realize the Government's plan to achieve energy independence of the country.

Production sharing agreements (PSA) are one of the worldwide best tools to facilitate tight cooperation between the state on one side, and domestic and foreign investors on the other side, to implement large scale projects in appraisal and production of carbohydrates.

We express our hopes that the new bidding will abide by the transparency principles, and the reputation of PSAs as a tool of cooperation with Ukraine will remain at a high level.

The Association of Gas Producers of Ukraine is ready to provide comprehensive top-notch feedback and support in announcing the new competition and in attracting potential investors to the Yuzivska field both in Ukraine and abroad.

The Association is also expressing its deepest respect to the members of Parliament of Ukraine, members of the relevant Committee of the Parliament, Victoria Voytsitska and Nataliya Katser-Buchkovska for their professional position and comprehensive public elucidation of the issue.